


stolen things

by aheadfulloffollies



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Catra Has Issues (She-Ra), F/F, Fluff, Hurt and comfort, Mentioned Horde Prime (She-Ra), POV Catra (She-Ra), This Is Fine, aaaand i still don't know how to tag things, catradora is my whole life, tw for ptsd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:53:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28294869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aheadfulloffollies/pseuds/aheadfulloffollies
Summary: Adora comforts Catra, who's in her head about being controlled by Horde Prime.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 79





	stolen things

**Author's Note:**

  * For [asmileyoucouldbottle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/asmileyoucouldbottle/gifts).



> merry fucking christmas dot ily you're a funky FOOL but like. the best fool idek i just think you're neat :relieved:

When she was two, Catra  stole a folded up blank piece of paper from somewhere she no longer remembered in the Horde. She carried it with her for three months but never showed it to anyone but Adora, captivated by the fragility and this thing that was officially hers. No one even noticed the loss of a single sheet of paper, so there was no one to complain.

And so Catra discovered that she liked stealing things.

Not often. Not a lot. Nothing that would even be of much worth to anyone else. A paper clip, the carm that fell off a bracelet, an old utensil from the kitchen they were about to throw away. Useless things. She didn’t even like the, but they were hers, and she needed that.

She hadn’t seen them since Horde Prime, and she didn’t want to. If you had to take things for them to be yours, they lost any sort of shine. She knew that now.

It was hard to understand this until someone stole something from her and she caught them, entirely unable to do anything about it. There was nothing material, nothing of enough worth that she owned for anyone to consider taking, but there was plenty more for people to take when they were longing for the thrill of capture.

Shadow Weaver stole her innocence and her happiness at five.

Then her demons took away the rest: self-control, empathy, confidence, rationality.

And then.

And then Horde Prime stole the last thing she had left, and suddenly it all made sense that of  _ course _ she liked stealing things. No one had ever taught her to ask instead. And now she was left with nothing.

A sheet of paper, a paper clip, a fork, a metal charm.

Nothing. Nothing was left. All because she’d never fucking learned to ask. Because no one had ever told her that there were people in the world who would not manipulate or hurt her if they knew her soul.

Wanting things was a liability. Liabilities created hurt. But so did, apparently, the lack of them.

These were the thoughts that consumed her as she sat on a pretty bed in Bright Moon in a pretty room with a pretty castle surrounding it and pretty people inside.

Catra did not belong here. She was an empty shell with only the echo of evil in a place full of heroes, and she did not belong.

“Catra?”

“Hey, Adora,” she choked out, hating herself for the way her throat tightened and she wished to bring her into her arms. Hating herself, hating herself, hating herself.

“Are… are you okay?” Catra was vaguely aware of Adora closing the door behind her, brow furrowed, stepping close and sitting next to her on the bed. Anxious eyes set on Catra and her arms wrapped across her legs, legs against her chest, head down, tail curled around her body, making herself as small as possible. As invisible as she could. As little a stain on this perfect place she could be.

She didn’t answer.

“It’s Horde Prime again, isn’t it,” Adora said softly, and Catra shuddered away from the name, shutting her eyes tight.

“Hey,” she whispered, putting a gentle arm around Catra that she shrank into before she even realized she was doing it. “It’s okay. It’s over. You’re here, in Bright Moon.” A pause, and then, even quieter, “I’m here.”

“Stay?” she asked, giving into the want in her heart, the chaos in her mind that demanded a constant, a tether to hold on to.

Adora. Every part of her wanted Adora, and even if she weren’t the most consistent dumbass Catra had ever known, she would have anyway. It was a part of her. They could have never met and she would still long for her, for this comfortable companionship and love that was alive within her. For the familiarity of the only family she’d ever known, the one she would choose over and over and over.

“Of course. Always.”

They sat like that, Adora’s arm wrapped around Catra, making herself small. And it was chaos, and it was pain, and it was okay, because she was there and she was alive and Adora loved her and everything would be alright.

It had to be.

She had to believe that it would be alright.

She didn’t know if it was minutes or hours later when her mind finally began to calm. Once it did, she looked up, uncurled herself, staying in Adora’s arms and gazing at her, slight smile and wide eyes and beautiful, every part.

“Adora?”

“Mhm?”

“Promise me that you’ll never say I stole your heart. Or that you stole mine.” Catra hadn’t meant for it to come out as much of a plead as it did, but she decided that she didn’t care. This was something she’d plead for, beg for, on her knees and tears in her eyes.

Never.

She wouldn’t let her demos take this from her again. Anything else, if they had to, but not this.

Not Adora.

Never again.

Bewilderment was Adora’s norm, but this didn’t seem to surprise her. “I promise. That would be a lie anyway.”

_ You gave it to me. _

“I gave it to you.”

She really fucking loved her.

“Hey, Adora?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you, idiot.”

_ That smile.  _ That was it, the sunrise at the end of the tunnel that made everything worth it.

“I love you too.”

“Idiot,” she whispered again, and she meant it. But oh, how lovely it was to have someone to be a fool with.


End file.
